Is Google Making Us Dumb?
Back at the start of the 20th century, the washing machine was invented in order to automate the process of washing clothes. This was done because women had to spend several hours a week washing clothes by hand. I imagine it was a laborious and mind-numbing task, and I don't envy women from the pre-washing machine epoch.
Now, 100 years later, we have the Internet and Google at our fingertips in order to help us look up information quicker than ever before. This has led several people to question whether or not this ease of access to information is making us "dumber". Since we can look things up on Wikipedia so easily, we have less incentive to memorize information, and so we end up with (arguably) less knowledge stored in our brains.
Technology affords us convenience (and sometimes environmental detriment), but it has little impact on our level of intelligence. More importantly, asking whether or not the convenience of Google is making us "dumber" is asking entirely the wrong question. It's like debating 100 years ago whether or not the introduction of the washing machine was going to make those women who used to spend hours washing clothes more lazy.
Here's the question we should be asking: Now that we don't need to use our brains to store facts that we can easily look up, what are we going to do with our brains instead? Be creative? Make art?
Now that you have a washing machine, what are you doing with all that extra time?
Now, 100 years later, we have the Internet and Google at our fingertips in order to help us look up information quicker than ever before. This has led several people to question whether or not this ease of access to information is making us "dumber". Since we can look things up on Wikipedia so easily, we have less incentive to memorize information, and so we end up with (arguably) less knowledge stored in our brains.
Technology affords us convenience (and sometimes environmental detriment), but it has little impact on our level of intelligence. More importantly, asking whether or not the convenience of Google is making us "dumber" is asking entirely the wrong question. It's like debating 100 years ago whether or not the introduction of the washing machine was going to make those women who used to spend hours washing clothes more lazy.
Here's the question we should be asking: Now that we don't need to use our brains to store facts that we can easily look up, what are we going to do with our brains instead? Be creative? Make art?
Now that you have a washing machine, what are you doing with all that extra time?